Reckon updates Quicken license for cloud era

The new agreement grants Reckon, which is currently the exclusive distributor of the Quicken Desktop and QuickBooks financial suites in Australia and New Zealand, license to offer an internet service called QuickBooks hosted by Reckon Online.

The initial agreement was drawn up in 1998, so it only dealt with desktop applications.

Reckon CEO Clive Rabie said the companies felt the agreement needed to be updated to reflect the growing popularity of cloud computing.

“Although the online market currently only represents a small portion of our new product sales, the patterns are showing that over the next few years online products will become more significant,” he said.

It was difficult to replicate the model for the Quicken desktop products, which involves Reckon localising them for the Australian market, with cloud versions of the product, he said.

The new license gives Reckon leave to continue to offer and develop the most recent version of the Quicken product at any time after cancellation, in a clause Rabie said was aimed at allowing the company to independently pursue on-line service ambitions.

The revamped agreement also drops the key performance indicators that needed to be met to ensure license renewals, and involves three-year instead of one-year renewals.

RKN shares ended Monday's trading up 1.69% at $2.400, the highest point since early October.

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